Harmonix loses '12-15%' of staff in "restructuring"

More turbulence for Rock Band dev

Rock Band developer Harmonix has reportedly let go between 12 and 15 per cent of its 240 staff.

A spokesperson last night confirmed toJostiq that it was "reducing the number of full-time staff" as a result of "restructuring our organization to bring it into alignment with our current product development plans.

"We sincerely appreciate the work of each and every one of these employees. Harmonix is working to ensure that those affected are well taken care of as we make this change."

The studio has seen troubled times of late, having been put up for sale by former owner Viacom then re-establishing itself with private investment.

Last week, Viacom closed down the remainder of MTV Games as part of its apparently withdrawal from the videogames industry.

Harmonix is known to be working on a 3DS music game, as well as downloadable content for Dane Central Rock Band 3.

Sign up for The Daily Update and get the best of GamesIndustry.biz in your inbox.

Yes, it is. Imagine how much they pay in salaries alone each month for 240 people. If they only have two games in production, they are bleeding money and have to lay off people. That's the problem of big inhouse teams.